


Fever

by orphan_account



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bucky Barnes's Metal Arm, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Protective Bucky Barnes, Sick Tony, Sickfic, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-07-03 23:59:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15829584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Tony is sick, and Bucky takes care of him. He's never had someone take care of him like that.





	Fever

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by a prompt from ironmanstan on tumblr.
> 
> my tumblr is peggycartersgothgf.

Tony wakes in a cold sweat from disturbingly vivid dreams of wormholes and missiles and hands deep in his chest. He knows he’s sick before the feeling of overwhelming heat even hits him. He doesn’t have nightmares - not anymore. Not unless he’s sick. Strangely enough, they seemed to disappear shortly after he made amends with Bucky. It took a year after Siberia, but the closure on his parents’ death brought a season of peach that he hadn’t felt since being taken captive in Afghanistan.

The sick feeling hits him like a bus. He feels nauseous with the burning heat, and he moans miserably. When he brings his hand up to his forehead, he can’t tell if it’s his hand or his face that’s so clammy. Bucky starts to stir in bed next to him, and he sits up with a groan to find Tony writhing and sweating next to him.

“Doll, whatsa matter?” he drawls, tongue heavy with sleep. “Bad dream?”

“Mhm,” Tony whines, and Bucky leans over to place his flesh palm on his forehead. “Feel sick.”

“Yeah, yer burnin’ up.” Bucky frowns and gets up out of bed. He pushes the whole comforter to the foot of the bed on his way, and Tony sighs at the feeling of the cool midnight air hitting his skin. He frowns though when he realizes that Bucky is leaving. He should have known that even Bucky wouldn’t stick around to take care of him. He probably just left so he can sleep without hearing Tony’s miserable little noises of discomfort.

But then Bucky comes back ten minutes later, and Tony almost starts crying. To be fair, he is feeling especially vulnerable due to his sickness. Bucky is holding a bowl of something steaming and a bottle of water. He motions for Tony to sit up and hands him the bowl, which is filled with hot water and bundles of sweet-smelling little white flowers. Tony scrunches up his nose and frowns.

“‘S yarrow tea, Tony,” Bucky says, apparently reading his mind. “Couldn’t find a single mug in that goddamn kitchen.”

“Fuck is yarrow?”

“Good for ya. They use it some places to make ya sweat out yer fever.”

“‘S a flower, Buck,” Tony says incredulously.

“Christ, Doll, do ya always gotta argue? It ain’t gonna make ya any worse. Drink the tea.”

“Can I eat the flowers? Where’d you get this, anyway?”

“Stole it from the Witch. The flowers don’t taste very good, but you can eat ‘em. Drink it, Tony.”

Tony frowns, but tosses back a mouthful of the tea anyway. It dribbles over his face from the sides of the bowl, and it actually tastes surprisingly good. It feels soothing going down his throat, too.

“Thanks, honey,” Tony croaks begrudgingly, and he sets the bowl on his bedside table before lying back down. He feels restless, but he’s too achey to move around. “Fuck, this sucks.”

“I know, Doll. I’m here, though, okay?” Bucky rests his metal hand on Tony’s forehead, and Tony groans in appreciation of the cold, nuzzling closer. He feels himself sniffle as emotions build up in his chest.

“Thanks, Buck,” he says, voice wet with tears. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Bucky says, taken aback. “Why ya cryin’, doll? What’s wrong?”

“Just...love you a lot.” Tony sniffles again. “No one really ever takes care of me like this, you know? It’s been a while. I just...I didn’t think you were coming back?”

“Whaddaya mean?”

“When you left. Thought you were goin’ to sleep on the couch,” he clarifies. “Pep used to do that sometimes. Steve, too. No one’s ever come back to check on me.”

“Tony…”

“It’s okay. I’m not tryin’ to throw myself a pity party. I just really appreciate it.”

“Doll, you deserve t’ be taken care of. I’m sorry that you don’t know that. This ain’t s’posed to be special. Everyone who really loves you will take care of you like this.”

Tony doesn’t answer though. He’s fallen asleep nuzzled against Bucky’s metal hand.

**Author's Note:**

> I had to throw in yarrow cause it's my favorite plant! It's used as a hot tea to induce sweating and break a fever.


End file.
